Recently, I was watching a Kathleen Lights video and she said how good the Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Shadow was, so I thought I’d give it a try. Then, about a day later, I saw an IG pic by editionalbeauty (check out her blog) of her collection of Revlon ColorStay cream shadows. I thought, “I wonder how the two drugstore brands compare!” So, I grabbed the Revlon cream shadow in a shade as similar as the nude/gold one I picked up by Maybelline. The shades aren’t the same, but I am comparing the two shadows for their longevity and quality. Since I chose lighter shades, I can’t say if the pigmentation for the darker ones are different.

When dipping your finger into the pot, don’t press too hard. I found the best way was to lightly swirl my finger in the pot so that I didn’t get clumps of the shadow on my finger.

I did a few different wear tests to see how they performed:

TEST #1- no eyeshadow primer, no shadow

I wanted to test the longevity of both products without any primer and no shadows on top. By the 2nd hour, both were starting to crease near the inner corner of my eye.

TEST #2- with eyeshadow primer, and eyeshadow on top (half of lid)

I used Etude House Proof 10 Eyeshadow Primer and then I used a light brown shade to smoke out the outer corner. Both shadows creased by the 5th or 6th hour, but they held up well until then.

TEST #3– using the cream shadow as a base

For the 3rd test, I basically did the same as test #2, but I also applied a shimmery rose gold shade on the lid.

Both shadows looked good as a shadow on their own and as a base for a shimmery powder shadow. I highly suggest eyeshadow primer when you use it though. It definitely extended the wear time and my lids don’t get super oily.

Maybelline (top), Revlon

The Revlon isn’t as pigmented after one swipe, but it is buildable. Both look good alone for a simple, shimmery lid. For me, I liked when I used the cream shadows all over the lid and then applied a brown shade on the outer corner and lower lashline to smoke it out.

Comparing the two shades I got, I think I like the Revlon one better because it’s more rose gold while the Maybelline is more yellow gold. Both are around the same price (around $10), but you get more in the Revlon pot (0.18oz/5.2g) than the Maybelline one (0.14oz/4g). Both come in shimmery and matte shades.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like the Revlon shadow is a bit more creamy. When I dip my finger into it, it feels a bit softer.

Both came off easily with my Garnier Micellar Water. There may be residual sparkles left, but the colour removes easily.

WINNER: Revlon ColorStay Crème Eye Shadow

Revlon ekes out a victory here. Both perform really well, but I think I prefer Revlon because it blends more nicely for my monolids. Because it’s less pigmented, it looks more seamless when you blend it on the lid. Since I don’t have a crease, I don’t like when shimmery eyeshadows go too high on my lids (that’s just me though).